You fell asleep on the flight coming back. Seating arrangements were the same as before. You felt asleep on Lay's shoulder, comforted by the warmth of his presence sitting beside you. Not in any romantic way, but in a more brotherly best friend-ish way. Once the plane landed, you awoke, much to your disappointment. You wished you could simply sleep on his shoulder forever, and never have to leave the plane and step foot in Daegu. The second you stepped out of the plane, you became dead silent, knowing every step you took got you closer to your graveyard. The car ride to your house was silent too, your face grew dark and no one dared to speak up, afraid you would burst at any second. Even Yuji felt the tension.

You dragged your luggage to your front door, your legs feelings heavier than usual. There was something like a force field around your house that was keeping you from entering. But it wasn't like you didn't want it there. It was a figment of your imagination after all. You wanted it there. You needed it there. It was the only thing that separated freedom from captivity. 

You slowly approached the two white double doors at the front of your house and stopped at the top step. You could hear your conscious screaming at you, "NO, Don't open the door!!!" But it was now or never, and at that moment, It was now.

You pushed the doorbell with a reluctant finger and waited. You heard shuffling behind the door and then it swung open, revealing your mother. You bowed immediately a full 90º on instinct, never daring to look her in the eye directly. Avoiding eye contact at all costs. Anything but eye contact.

"Omonim." You spoke, your voice lacking any emotion whatsoever.

"Yejin!!" She squealed overly optimistic.

Fake. Fraud. Lie. Sarcastic. Artificial. Those were the only things you could hear from .

She wore a simple flowy white dress that stopped right above her knees. She wore her signature floral apron on top of it. Her hair was pulled up in a tight bun with bobby pins stuck in it here and there. Her skin was youthful, but the signs of aging and stress were coming in. She wore her favorite pink slippers you could recall her wearing around the house when you were little. Not much had changed about her, except for the optimism..

She wrapped her arms around you and gave your a tight squeeze. You turned stiff as a board, uncomfortable and unfamiliar with her actions. You tried your best the push out of her grasp and managed to take a step forward, which indicated that you wanted her to clearly let go. She immediately removed her arms from you, looking apologetic, realizing how uncomfortable you must have been.

"Omonim, I'll be going to my room to put away my luggage."

"Yes, of course." She sighed to herself, but you could tell.

And with that, you walked off in the other direction.

Kris took a step in through your doorway and bowed with a smile, "Annyeongahseyo omonim." 

"Kris! What a pleasant surprise! Yejin said something about bringing friends but I didn't think it would be you!" She pulled him into a motherly embrace and smiled.

To Kris, she was his mom too. After losing his own at a young age, she kind of took the place of the mom he loved so much. Mom or not, respect was respect, and he knew how to put it into practice.

"Of course omonim, but I'm not here alone of course!" Kris stepped aside to allow Luhan and Lay to be seen. Your mom's already happy expression became overjoyed.

"Luhan! Yixing! My you two have grown so tall and quite handsome as well! But you need to tell me your secrets to your perfect skin! It looks so nice compared to the last time I say you two!"

"Annyeonghaseyo, omonim!" Luhan bowed politely, while Lay followed suit.

"It's just umma to you.. To all of actually! Drop the honorifics, there's already enough respect in this house.. we don't need any more of it." She sighed deeply this time, looking back at your slowly retreating figure.

"Umma, I'm here too!" Chinji peeped from behind Luhan's back with a giggle.

"Ahhh! CHINJI-AH! You have no clue how much I missed you so much! You still haven't taught me your specialty recipe for your jjajjangmyeon!"

"Of course not umma, it's a secret!"

"Bwoh?! Come on.. teach me!" Your mom pleaded.

"Haha, alright alright."

"YES!" 

All of a sudden, Yuji's small body frame appeared and your mom smiled brightly.

"I heard you were coming along!"

"Yes umma, but, where's Yemin?"

"Ahh, she's still at school."

"School?! But I thought it was Winter vacation?!"

"Well yes it is, but she has some extra activities that she has going on during vacation."

"Like what?"

"Oh you know, the usual sports."

"She still plays soccer?" Yuji's eyes widened in surprise.

"Of course she does, but sadly, it's bringing her academics down quite a bit, and I'm hoping you could talk some sense into her, just tell her to worry about her grades too!"

"Oh no problem, I won't just talk some sense, I'll smack it into her! She'll be getting A's by the end of the year!" Yuji proudly declared.

"So Yemin still plays soccer?" Luhan interjected with interest.

"Yes, she's actually gotten quite good at it too!"

"Remind me to play one match with her and we'll see just how good she is when I beat her for the 100th time."

"I wouldn't be so sure Lulu, she's honed her skills better than the other players on her team, she's become a starter already!"

"Well, like I said, we'll see. It'll be fun to get back into the sport again anyways." He smiled his usual eye smile.

"Well, are you guys going to introduce me to there nice and patient young boys standing here?" She scanned over Xiumin, Tao, and Chen.

"Umma, they are Kim Minseok, Huang Zitao, and Kim Jongdae.

"You three are quite handsome as well. You must be the rest of the group!"

"Woah.. umma... You know about EXO?" Kris gaped.

"Of course I do! I'm a huge fan! You boys have done a splendid job on promoting your song 'MAMA' and 'History' I believe." She gave them a thumbs up.

"Waah, umma I never knew that you watched idols!"

"Yes of course I do! And Luhan! We need to work on that terrible excuse of aegyo that you have going on." She shook her head in mock disappointment.

"But I don't know how!" He pouted back.

"We'll work on it, but in the meantime, I made patbingsu for all of you in the kitchen, let's go!" She pointed a finger towards the kitchen and playfully skipped down the hall.

"Yejin's mom doesn't seem at all the way they described her before." Xiumin pondered with both eyebrows raised. Tao and Chen nodded along, agreeing fully.

"Well, she never used to be that way before. But she's changing, and I see it.. I just hope one day Yejin sees it too." He sighed and walked past the 3.

They made their way to the quaint kitchen and sat down around the dining table, and with Chinji being the dessert junkie that she was, she had finished her first bowl, and began to dig into her second.

You roamed around the hallways of your house, reminiscing on the past. You stopped by an old shelf of photos that were placed in a neat and orderly line on the side of the hallway. You looked at each one carefully with a melancholy feeling. A ball began to form in your throat and you choked on your air. In all the pictures, you were smiling. Happy. It was a feeling you couldn't feel while looking at those photos. You were still little when they were taken. They were all taken before the incident, and since then, none were ever taken again. Those photos were just for show, used as a veil for the true condition your family was in. Broken. In pieces. And the pictures just hid the reality. You let out a deep breath and continued on your way.

You stopped by the living room recalling the family game nights you used to have. You would play several board games. Chores were at stake. And even your parents were happy to play. Your two sisters could never beat you at kai bai bo, and for that reason, you always had less chores. Your family never used to be this way, and you admit that you missed those times.

You found your feet dragging you to the one place you hated the most and your hands balled into fists once you stopped at the two glass doors that lead to your father's office.

His office was like a library, books surrounding his desk. And on that desk, was your father. His serious and concentrated face was still plastered on him like a statue. He had never changed from when you left him in the years before. It was as if you had never left. He was too focused to even notice your presence observing his every move. No matter what he had done to you, you still wondered for some reason, questions that you didn't want an answer to, for they were too personal for them to be answered. Questions like: Does he sleep? Did he eat breakfast? Is he overwhelmed with all the paperwork? Is he still healthy? Is he still taking his meds?

Those questions, you never dared to ask, always afraid to find an answer, or to be punished for even opening your mouth in front of him. Now, 3 years later, you couldn't see your father. You saw the owner of the Park Corporation sitting on his desk, signing paper after paper. You couldn't recognize him anymore, and as the years went by, the image of your father slowly faded to be replaced with this stranger sitting in your father's chair. You wanted so badly to scream, 'Who are you and what have you done to appa?!'... But 'appa' was a foreign word to you, you didn't know how that word tasted in your mouth from the lack of uttering it. It was a strange and sad feeling, but that feeling was still the same from when you left for college. You stood at the door just like you were now, looking at your father, wondering the same questions. But that's when it hit you. Literally. The sounds of the leather belt on your back cracked the air, causing an ear shattering memory to flood your mind as you closed your eyes to ease the hurt, flinching in the process.

Your breath hitched and you opened your eyes again to be met with the same image of your father still sitting, busy with his paperwork. You took a step back and left the hallway. 

You made your way up the stairs trailing your fingers along the etched wood of the railing. With one step at a time, you slowly made your way to the top dragging your feet to your room. On the door hung the wooden name plate with your name painted on it.

"YEJIN"

You took hold of the doorknob and turned it only to hear a large creak, indicating that they hadn't been in your room for a long time, even possibly since you left. You appreciated their sense of privacy to say the least. As soon as you entered the room, you were greeted by the scent of antique and aged wood with a mix of white lily. You smiled, feeling somewhat at home in your own space. The furniture had collected quite a bit of dust, and hadn't been moved or touched since you left. Everything was still in its place the way you had left it. 

After putting away all your clothes by color the way you had it in Seoul, you began to put the rest of your luggage away. As soon as you had finished putting away all your stuff, you sat on the edge of your bed and looked around feeling nostalgic. You took a deep breathe and stretched. Suddenly you heard a knock on your door.

"Come in." You spoke, curiously.

The door creaked open and in came a tall dark hair woman wearing a business outfit and the whole shabang. She resembled you in many way except she had more prominent features. Chiseled jaw, slightly pointed nose, pearly white teeth, and her lengthy eyelashes.

Your breath hitched at the sight of her.

"What are you doing here?" You said angrily.

"They let me come back home..." Her voice trailed off but she smiled faintly.

She approached you for a hug but you backed away dangerously.

"Don't touch me."

"At least let me explain." She pleaded.

"Explain? I don't need an explanation. I know what happened. You decided to elope with you husband and never came back home. You left me and Yemin here for nothing. We were miserable all the time. All we ever heard the next day was, 'Your sister decided to get married without our permission, and she's never coming back home. She is being disowned.' So tell me why you're here in this house, in my room." You demanded.

"Look, I had to leave. I couldn't just stay here."

"They disowned you, banned you from being in this house, so how did you get in? Did you break in? Break a window? How did you do it?" You asked in a somewhat mocking way.

"Hey! I'm not a criminal. Mom supported me anyway even if dad said he was disowning me. She gave me the PCDC line to manage and that's where I get my income now. My husband is a doctor. We're living quite fine on our own."

"SHE GAVE YOU THE PCDC LINE?!" A/N: (Park Corporation Designer Clothing)

"Yes.."

"That's an entire line of clothing! How...?"

"It's not one of the main clothing lines we have you know... It's not really that big of a deal."

"Not that big of a deal?! That's an entire clothing line!"

"Not really.."

"YERIN!"

"Yah, I'm only two years older than you, but I'm still you unnie. So call me unnie!"

"Never."

"Say it... say it.." She teased.

"NO!"

"Okay then, could you please just stop shouting and admit that you missed me?" She smirked evilly.

"No." You turned around abruptly so that your back was facing her. But you took a peek behind you and found your sister's fingers out like she was about to do something you really didn't want her to do.

"You wouldn't.." Your eyes widened.

"Oh you know I would." She teased back.

"Yerin! NO!" And with that, the two of you began your tickle fight. You crouched down on the floor in fetus position in a fit of laughter.

A few second later, someone walks in.

"Yejin, there's patbingsu in the kitch—" Kris was cut off mid-sentence at the sight of the two of you literally rolling on the floor laughing.

A creepy yet playful smile made its way on his face.

"Yerin."

Your sister got up on her feet dusting herself off, "Wufan. Nice to see you again. Still single?" She smirked.

"Well first of all, contract? I can't in the first place. 2nd the single life is the life. and 3rd. Last time I checked, just because we're the same age doesn't mean that I have to get married too, and besides, weren't you the one that was head over heels in love with me? Now how would your husband feel if he found out you had a crush on the iest man alive?"

"FYI. My husband is wayyy ier than you are. Don't be to sure of yourself."

"Someone ier than me? Hmm, never heard of that."

"Well, you're still in your little boyband group thing, while I'm managing a clothing line. Beat that."

"Uhm, excuse me? Half of this country.. no take that back. HALF OF THIS WORLD IS IN LOVE WITH ME. TAKE THAT!"

"Omygosh. Are you sure you guys are even 22?!" You shook your head and rolled your eyes, pushing past them and out of your room.

You made your way to the kitchen and at the sight of your mother, the playful aura dissipated along with your smile. You sat down on the empty chair beside Chinji and took your portion of patbingsu, stuffing a spoonful into your mouth. After you, came Kris and Yerin, still bickering like little children.

"Stop touching me!" Yerin squealed

"I can touch you whenever I want to!"

"That sounded wrong!"

"Stop thinking so dirty! You know what I meant!"

"Ewwwww, you byuntae!"

"Don't call me that!"

"WILL YOU TWO STOP BICKERING AND EAT YOUR FOOD?!" Your mother boomed.

With that, the two silenced but still continued bickering under their breath. That sat down and although disappointed that they couldn't finish the little argument, they ate their food obediently.

"Are they always like that?" Xiumin wondered.

"Mhmm.." You nodded with the spoon still in your mouth.

"Why does she look like you?" Tao asked in the most innocent way possible.

"She's my sister. My older sister."

"BWOH?!" He gawked.

"Oh yeah, I remember you guys talking about her."

"Yeah, well Yerin." You turned to her, and she turned her attention to you. "Introduce yourself."

"Annyeonghaseyo, I'm Park Yerin, Yejin's oldest sister."

"Actually, your name is Lee Yerin now."

"You're still mad at me?" She shook her head.

Suddenly, a shorter looking girl with soccer cleats and a grass-stained soccer tee showed up at the door of the kitchen. Her hair was up in a high ponytail with mud streaks on her face and her knees. She had scrapes here and there but overall, she looked happy and optimistic. She dropped her sports bag at the sight of the crowd in her kitchen. She scanned the faces and stopped at one particular one that struck her.

"Yuji?!"

"Ah, Yemin... Uhm surprise?" Your mom spoke slightly disappointed and shocked by her sudden arrival.

"YEMIN!!!!" Yuji squealed and jumped out of her seat. She ran straight towards Yemin and gave her the tightest friendly hug anyone could give.

"YOU'RE ACTUALLY HERE?!?!" Yemin screamed.

"YES I AM!!!" 

"You two can go catch up somewhere else, don't go trying to break our eardrums!" Your mom scolded.

"Omo, mianhamnida omonim." Yemin bowed 90º remembering your mom's presence.

You had thought about it for sometime, but you were expecting to see this kind of attitude from your mother when you arrived. You just weren't quite sure how to react to it. But after some thinking since you had gotten off the plane, you decided to let some of your guard down around her. If she was truly making an effort to make amends, you saw no harm in trying as well.

"Well, you notice your best friend first before you notice your sister? How shameful of you." You teased Yemin casually. Everyone in the room was somewhat taken aback by your casual comment in the presence of your mother. Even she was surprised. All eyes turned to you, and you decided to play along with your act, just to be consistent.

"What? Why are you all looking at me like that?" You cocked your head as if your behavior was normal.

"UNNIE!!" Yemin ran to your side, practically tackling you while you laughed heartily. It felt good to let loose a little. It was a strange and somewhat new feeling, but you liked it. Less respect, bowing at a lesser degree, no more expressionless talk. You could get used to this.

"Annyeong Minne." You hugged her tightly in a warm embrace. "But guess who decided to join us." You made a sour face and nodded towards your older sister. Yemin turned her attention to the woman and her expression dimmed.

"Yerin....unnie?" She said almost questioning her own judgment.

"Mhmm.." Yerin nodded her head.

Yemin's breathing quickened, "Why are you here?"

"Are you still mad at me too? Gosh you two aren't very welcoming to your older sister." She grimaced.

"I asked you a question. Why are you here?"

Sometimes, your little sister could be scarier than you, and at this moment, even you were scared out of your wits. The sound of her venomous tone sent shivers down your spine.

"Well, I actually have some news to tell all of you, which was perfect timing, because I didn't know that Yejin moved out for college and the couple of days that she's here, I'm here too. What a coincidence right?"

"Coincidence or not, you don't belong here." Yemin spat.

"Minnie, let's just be nice, I know you didn't really know her, but you need to let her try again. She might not be as bad as you still think. Let's just try and make room for her yeah? What's the harm in doing that right?" You tried to talk to her as soothing and calmly as possible, just to let her cool down.

"Fine. But she doesn't even know us anymore. She doesn't know my favorite color. What's my favorite stuffed animal. When's my birthday. How old I am now. And where I used to cry when I felt lonely."  Yemin spoke, not only telling you, but also testing Yerin at the same time.

Yerin cleared and began. "Favorite color, white and blue. Why? Because it's Real Madrid's home colors, which is your favorite soccer team." She added as a side note to prove her point. "Favorite stuffed animal: Mickey Mouse, because we always called you Minnie. Birthday: November 22nd, and you just turned 18. You used to cry behind the willow tree in the backyard right next to the tree root that's sticking out from the ground... I know you. You just thought that I didn't." Yerin spoke 'as a matter of fact'ly.

Yemin scoffed, to show that she was unimpressed, but was clearly amazed that this stranger knew so much about her.

"Let's just give her a chance alright?" You whispered in her ear. She nodded, in a not so happy manner.

"Come here you two." Yerin spread her arms wide to let the two of you in for an embrace. You came towards her with Yemin at your side and enveloped the two of you in her arms.

"Oh this is a precious moment, I need my camera! DON'T GO ANYWHERE!" Your mom squealed in happiness and ran out of the kitchen. As soon as she was gone, Yerin let go of you, and for some reason, both she and Yemin were on equal terms now. They crossed their arms and turned to you immediately, giving you a suspicious look.

"Spill." Yerin spoke.

"What's with the casual act around mom?" Yemin's eyes turned to slits.

"What? So you two suddenly have telepathy and know what either of you were thinking?"

"I guess you could say something like that." Yemin bumped fists with Yerin.

"Wow, so now you two are best friends too?! Where was I in the split second everything turned against me?!"

"Not best friends. Sisters." Yerin smiled and pulled the two of you in for another hug.

A lot of 'Awws' erupted in the room, and for a second you forgot they were still there.

"Yemin, we need a rematch of our game you know." Luhan chimed.

"LUHAN OPPA!!!" Yemin screamed running towards him, but stopped at his feet. "I mean, yeah, we totally need a rematch." She spoke in a manlier and calmer tone.

Luhan chuckled. "You're still a girl right?"

"Yah!." She punched him hard in the chest.

"Ouch... You got stronger too? Are you sure you're a girl?"

"Oppa, saranghaeyo~" She cooed in a flirty and gushy way.

"Wow, that was a total 180º personality change." 

"Shut up, I missed you." She beamed.

"You too kiddo, you too." And he hugged her tightly. "Whoa.. did you lose weight?!"

"Right?!" She whined. "I noticed too." She pouted sadly, "Coach has had us on a diet and I haven't eaten a chocolate bar in weeks, I think I'm going to die!" 

"I'll take you out, our little secret. Bubble tea, and you can have all the chocolate you want. I won't tell, besides how could your coach do that to you?!"

"Oppa, he was your coach too!"

"Coach Nam  is the girl's soccer coach?!"

"Mhmm, I've been training under him just so that I could beat you."

"Well, I'm expecting some good results from you, he was the coach that made me this good." 

"I know! That's why I chose him." Yemin beamed proudly.

From afar, Chinji watched the two talk, but she had to admit, she was jealous of Yemin and the way she could talk so casually to Luhan. She seemed to know more about him than Chinji did. For example, Chinji had no idea that Luhan could play soccer. Her hopes of being with him died down. She pouted a little but caught herself in surprise.

Did I actually think we were going to be together?.. What is going on with me?! UGH.

Luhan was screwing with her mentality and it was either really good or really bad for her.. But somewhere deep within her, she hoped it was really good. She was afraid to find out though, afraid to find out her true feelings for Luhan. This was a new feeling for her and it scared her to be honest, but she kind of liked the risk-taking feeling. She stared at him with a longing smile just once more but looked away immediately hoping he didn't notice. But he did.

Was she staring at me just now?...He thought, causing a smile to form on his lips.

"Oppa, Why are you smiling like an idiot?" Yemin snapped him out of it.

"Oh, I'm just really happy that's all."

"Oh, I see." 

Everyone was reunited once again. Yerin and Kris. Yemin and Yuji. You wondered who you would see on this trip. You were sure someone from high school would see you and remember. Someone..... Someone was out there. But who?

____________________________________________________________________

A/N:

I AM SOOOOOOO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING FOR 3 WEEKS... T-T I REALLY AM SORRY. FINALS AND STUFF WERE JUST GOING ON.. AND I'M SURE YOU ALL THINK I HAVE THE TIME TO UPDATE NOW THAT IT'S SUMMER VACATION... BUT SAD TO TELL YOU ALL, I HAVE SUMMER SCHOOL T-T... I'M NOT STUPID IF THAT'S WHAT YOU GUYS ARE THINKING, i'm doing it to get ahead xP

LOL, anyways, the countdown continues! 

Who will Yejin meet? you can only wonder..(:

I love you all with all my heart, thank you for subscribing<3

NO PLAGIARISM PLEAAASE<3